This one’s worth a flip over

Rheyjey Ortouste, Mark Gonzales and Jason Huerte celebrate their first international gold with Karen Tanchanco-Caballero (front row, left), president of the Philippine Amateur Sepak Takraw Association and vice president of the Asian Sepak Takraw Federation. —NONGLUCK MATVANGSAENG TITI TUK

All the split-second, mid-air contortions easily hooked a young Rheyjey Ortouste.

It’s jaw dropping, to say the least, watching athletes play acrobats in a sport that looks like a cross between soccer and volleyball. And as a kid who looks up to his older brother, Rheyjey wanted to be just as good as him in the high-skill sport of sepak takraw.

“It’s unique, it’s like an art,” says Rheyjey.

As one of the country’s top sepak takraw strikers, Rheyjey makes it look easy to launch those high-energy kicks and aerial splits. “I started playing in grade school, at 12 years old,” Rheyjey says in Filipino. “My brother played it in school and he used to bring me along.”

But behind all the spectacle, sepak takraw demands incredible coordination, flexibility and quick thinking. Just imagine playing volleyball with your feet—with a small rattan ball that needs to sail across the net with a bicycle kick—a tough football move—then finish it off with a gymnast’s backflip.

It’s a sport not anyone can do, which perhaps makes it relatively obscure, save for countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar. But it hasn’t stopped the Philippines from challenging—and upsetting—the powerhouse squads of sepak takraw.

“I really thought that it would be hard to win against these countries because they’re so strong,” says Rheyjey, the 23-year-old veteran from Cebu City. “I was also surprised that it’s actually possible.”

A third-place finisher, at best, in the international scene, the Philippine team already celebrated a silver after bowing to Myanmar in the men’s doubles finals of the 2015 Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) in Singapore.

Buoyed by the surprise results, Rheyjey and the national squad felt a gold looked like a realistic target in the 2016 King’s Cup World Championships, the prestigious tournament held in Bangkok that pits over 30 national teams from Asia, Australia, Europe and North America.

Jason Huerte, a 24-year-old setter from Marikina, thinks the team’s month-long training in Thailand prior to the tournament did wonders: “After our training, I learned not to get rattled. I learned to relax.”

The Philippines swept the elimination round against Singapore, Australia, Chinese Taipei and Indonesia. In the semifinals, the trio of Jason, Rheyjey and his sub striker, Mark Gonzales, pulled off the tournament’s biggest shocker with a 15-21, 22-20, 21-19, win over host Thailand to advance to the title fight.

“Our unity inside the court and chemistry as a team really improved,” says Jason.

It didn’t look like that, though, in the team’s opening set against a familiar foe in the finals. Myanmar, the Filipinos’ SEA Games tormentor, zoomed to a 6-2 lead and whipped the Filipinos, 21-12, in the first set.

“We didn’t have any advantage, but we just kept playing,” shares Rheyjey.

Soldiering on, the Filipinos climbed out of the hole with Rheyjey firing 15 of his 35 points in the deciding set to stun Myanmar, 12-21, 21-17, 21-17, and capture their first major crown.

“We didn’t expect it,” says national team coach Junix Suico. “We were in the premier bracket and all the teams were strong.”

“I gave my best because I was given a break,” adds Mark, a 22-year-old from Albay, who won right on his international debut. “It was hard at first because I was new and [Jason and Rheyjey] had been playing together for a long time.”

Expectations followed their spectacular run, of course. But the team relishes getting tabbed as favorite in the men’s doubles of the 2017 SEA Games this August in Malaysia.

“We’re confident that we can get another gold,” says coach Junix. “There’s pressure because everyone’s now looking at us, but we tell the players that it’s a challenge for them.”

He credits Jason and Rheyjey for serving as the backbone and Mark for giving a new dimension to the team.

“Jason is very hardworking, he’s really focused,” says coach Junix. “Rheyjey is not only a veteran, he’s also smart on court. Mark surprised us because his skills really improved. When Rheyjey gets tired and Mark gets in, there’s still a strong chance for us to win the game.”

So even if these players make their kicks and flips look seemingly impossible, they’ll make sure it won’t be that when it’s time to win another gold.